Back in Chicago in the early '60s there was a fellow named Mark Dorinson who did a fine job o' picking. I've not heard of him since then.

At that same time there was a fellow called Perry Letterman in Ann Arbor, Michigan and then in Berkeley, California who was just the best too.

At the first University Of Chicago Folk Festival there was a fellow hanging out at the workshops on Saturday February 4th, 1961. His name was Marc Silber (maybe related to Erwin?) and he was sitting on a table and picking "San Francisco Bay Blues". It blew me away---pure and simple. After that I learned to fingerpick and never even looked back at flatpicking until I came up for air 40 years later.

More recently, a fellow that our own Harpgirl turned me on to, Frank Lindamood of Florida does some really nice unorthodox fingerpicking. I had pretty much figured, at this late date, that I couldn't get hit over the head by a guitar style----but, like the proverbial mule, Frank's songs have me wanting to hear more.

Abby, thanks again !

Art Thieme